Belfast Telegraph - Sunday Life magazine suppliment Interview

If you think Ronan Keating's face is his fortune think again. because for the next 3 weeks the pop idol's feet will be earning the money in memory of his mum.

Golden boy Ronan Keating won't put a foot wrong when he steps out tommorrow on a fund raising odyssey to walk the length of Ireland.

Despite a diary that even he admits hasn't enough days in the week, the platinum selling heart throb hits the roads tommorow on a 400 mile cancer charity trek. Bunions, blisters and back ache permitting, this 2nd 3 week marathon (his 1st was in 2003) will take Ronan and his entourage from the Giants Causeway on the north coast to Kinsale in the south west, raising money and awareness for the Marie Keating foundation.

Ronan and his siblings established the charity after their mum, Marie died from breast cancer. The importance of it's work was only underlined following Ronan's own cancer scare when he found a testicular lump.

"It turned out to be nothing, but I think its hard for men to go to their doctor and have him feel about... well down there" said Ro who's never been in better shape after hours of preperation in the gym.

Indeed you will be able to check his pecs for yourself- a documentary film crew is following the event "the kids think I'm mad! they dont know what cancer is and please God they never will- they just want to walk with me" said Ro who's hoping his pregnant wife, Yvonne will manage to catch up with him at various stages.

"Jack (6) and Marie (4) are at school now - well Marie's at nursery, so its hard for them to get out during the week, but there will be plenty of family and friends to keep me company.  The walk is a great challenge. I think everybody was amazed when I actually turned up at the Giants Causeway the last time and followed the whole thing through."

"But there's a great sense of achievement when you finish the walk, and the work of the foundation has helped us cope with our loss" Marie Keating was just 51 when she died in 1998.

"Its our way of turning something very negative in to something more positive", said Ro, who raised over 150,000 euros on the first walk 2 years ago and aims to kick that figure in to touch this time around.

The foundation funds mobile educational units which tour the republic, offering advice and support about cancer prevention and detection has teamed up with Cancer Research UK, it hopes to expand its programme into Northern Ireland and the UK mainland.

"We're now part of the largest cancer foundation in the world, and for us to join forces is great. We're all working for a beautiful thing, to save lives - and in the next 6 -12 months we hope to have opened a base in the north" said Ronan, who's squeezed his training routine in between touring and song writing with Irish legend Paul Brady.

As a dedicated hands on dad, though, his family always comes first, despite the schedule. He spends free weekends getting up at 6:30 am to play with the kids and walk the dog. "I dont think I've ever been busier. we're no Osbournes, but it makes us happy, and the children are just flying up. "I dont like being away for more than a couple of weeks at a time. Its just too painful to miss my kids growing up" said Ronan, who was the youngest of 5 and knows his mum would love to have seen her baby with his babies.

"Its pretty crazy, but you just take 1 day at a time and make it work. Mind you, I took last weekend off and didnt do a bloody thing!" he added.

You can catch up with Ronan's walk tomorrow when he travels from the Giants Causeway to Ballymoney; Tuesday May 17th, in Ballymena; Wednesday May 18th, between Antrim and Belfast; he's resting on May 19th and walking from Belfast to Lisburn, Hillsborough and Dromore on May 20th, rounding off the northern leg in Newry on May 21st.